In a retro-looking baby blue car riding down Martin Luther King Street in Atlanta, Georgia. P Power by Gunna blasted loudly from the car's speakers. Inside were Melvin behind the wheel, his little brother Jace in the passenger seat, and Kai Gonzalez sitting quietly in the back, fidgeting nervously with his fingers. Melvin and Jace sang along enthusiastically to the lyrics, wide smiles on their faces.
Kai seemed zoned out until Jace called his name repeatedly. "Bro, what's going on with you? You don't hear me calling you?" Jace said.
Kai looked up. "Nah my fault man, just feel kinda weird about this shit."
"What, like you scared?" Melvin interjected. The car fell silent. Kai got nervous. "Nah nah, not like scared but-"
Melvin cut him off with a laugh. "But scared? It's all good, little bro. I was scared my first time doing this too, but shit, that's the only way you can be a part of the family, you feel me? Gotta earn your keep."
"Hell yeah, then once we do, we gonna really be part of this shit," Jace added excitedly.
Kai turned to him. "What you mean 'we'? I'm just doing this for you. I don't want shit to do with this gang."
Jace smacked his teeth. "Why not, bro?"
"Why not? Because this shit is fucking lame. These kids running around the country right now in animal masks looting shit are cornballs. The only way to go from there is dead or in jail. Lucky I'm even in this car boutta do this shit with you."
Melvin interrupted angrily, "Ay young bull, you better watch your fucking mouth talking bout the family like that." The car lapsed into silence again until they pulled into the 7-Eleven parking lot.
They exited and approached the trunk, where Melvin revealed two 22s and two animal masks - a pig and a cat. "Y'all take these two guns, I don't give a fuck which animal is who. Be in and out as soon as possible, I'm the getaway. Anything goes south, start shooting and get the fuck out of there, got it?" Kai and Jace nodded, grabbed the items, put on the masks, and headed towards the store, guns in hand. Kai's heart raced while Jace seemed amped up.
Inside, they aimed their guns at the cashiers - an elderly Chinese woman and a white man. "Ay motherfucker, give me everything in that register right there!" Jace yelled. The woman screamed and cried as Jace impatiently ordered her to open the register faster. "Yea yea man, I'm boutta cop some nice shoes," he said cockily.
Throughout, Kai remained silent, his heart pounding with anxiety as he zoned out again. The old man noticed and slowly pulled a shotgun from under the counter. "Oh yea, stack it u-" Before Jace could finish, the man shot him point-blank in the face, killing him instantly.
"Shit! Shit!" Kai yelled. The man turned the shotgun on him, but Kai dove into an aisle, narrowly avoiding the blast. He quickly shot the man in the chest. "Shit!" Kai cried again, hyperventilating as he surveyed the bloody scene - his friend's body, the cashiers. For a moment, he even turned the gun on himself before screaming "FUCK!" and fleeing to Melvin's car.
"Drive! Fucking drive!" Kai shouted through tears as he ripped off his mask.
"Ay hold on man, where's my brother?" Melvin asked.
"Just fucking drive, the cops gotta be on their way!"
"Yo Kai...where the fuck is my brother man?"
Kai broke down. "Fucking dead man! They shot him!"
"They...they what?" Melvin sobbed, his driving becoming erratic with shock and grief. "THEY KILLED MY FUCKING BROTHER MAN, FUCK!"
To be continued